Arctic could be ice-free in as little as ten years’ time

October 14th, 2009 Explorers: North Pole summers ice free in 10 yearsLONDON — The North Pole will turn into an open sea during summer within a decade, according to data released Wednesday by a team of explorers who trekked through the Arctic for three months The Catlin Arctic Survey team, led by explorer Pen Hadow, measured the thickness of the ice as it sledged and hiked through the northern part of the Beaufort Sea in the north Pole earlier this year during a research project. Their findings show that most of the ice in the region is first-year ice that is only around 1.8 meters (six feet) deep and will melt next summer.

September 22nd, 2009 WASHINGTON - New findings by scientists indicate that that Arctic ice would last decades longer than thought, and the region won't experience ice-free summers until 2030 or 2040. Some models had previously predicted that the Arctic could be ice free in summer by as soon as 2013, due to rising temperatures from global warming.

September 18th, 2009 WASHINGTON - A new study has found that the Arctic sea ice cover appears to have reached its minimum extent for this year, the third-lowest recorded since satellites began measuring sea ice extent in 1979. The study was carried out by researchers from to the University of Colorado at Boulder's National Snow and Ice Data Center.

September 9th, 2009 WASHINGTON - Developing oil rigs in the Arctic is helping predators prey on nesting birds by providing them with subsidised housing. They nest and den around drilling infrastructure and supplement their diets with garbage and nesting birds, says a new study by Wildlife Conservation Society, US Fish and Wildlife Service.

August 7th, 2009 WASHINGTON - A climate model has predicted that global warming, combined with nuclear waste, may make the Arctic Ocean a polluted soup by the year 2070. According to a report in New Scientist, Ola Johannessen, director of the Nansen Environmental and Remote Sensing Center in Bergen, Norway, and his colleagues, developed the model.

July 10th, 2009 WASHINGTON - In a new research, scientists have obtained evidence for ice-free summers with intermittent winter sea ice in the Arctic Ocean during the Late Cretaceous period, which should help predict how the Arctic is likely to respond to future global warming. The Late Cretaceous, the period between 100 and 65 million years ago leading up to the extinction of the dinosaurs, is crucial in this regard because levels of carbon dioxide (CO2) were high, driving greenhouse conditions.

July 9th, 2009 LONDON - In a new study, scientists have said that as global warming removes the Arctic's icy lid, the region is expected to teem with life by the year 2030. According to a report in New Scientist, the study of what the Arctic looked like just before dinosaurs were wiped off the planet has provided a glimpse of what could be to come within decades.

July 8th, 2009 WASHINGTON - Data from a NASA Earth-orbiting spacecraft has revealed a dramatic thinning of Arctic sea ice between the winters of 2004 and 2008, with thin seasonal ice replacing thick older ice as the dominant type for the first time on record. The new results provide further evidence for the rapid, ongoing transformation of the Arctic's ice cover.

July 5th, 2009 WASHINGTON - A new study by scientists has shown a dramatic increase in the amount of fresh water in the Arctic Ocean. Fresh water flowing into or out of the Arctic Ocean plays an important role in ocean circulation and may be a factor in the response of the world ocean to climate change.

July 5th, 2009 WASHINGTON - An analysis by scientists has suggested that the Arctic was an enclosed freshwater lake until about 38 million years ago, when tectonic activity caused it to undergo a transition to an ocean. Recent studies have suggested that beginning about 44 million years ago the Arctic underwent a transition from lake to ocean conditions.

June 10th, 2009 Kremlin envoy: Russia will press claim to ArcticMOSCOW — Russia will rebuild its Soviet-era network of polar stations and use its icebreaker fleet to help support its claim to the vast resources of the Arctic, the man who led a mission to plant a Russian flag on the Arctic seabed said Wednesday. Artur Chilingarov, a famed polar scientist who was recently appointed the Kremlin's point man for Arctic issues, said Russia will gather data and resubmit its claim to the United Nations that an underwater mountain range crossing the polar region is part of Russia's continental shelf.

June 10th, 2009 Russia presses claim to Arctic energy richesMOSCOW — Russia will rebuild its Soviet-era network of polar stations and use its icebreaker fleet to help support its claim to the vast resources of the Arctic, the man who led a mission to plant a Russian flag on the Arctic seabed said Wednesday. Artur Chilingarov, a famed polar scientist who was recently appointed the Kremlin's point man for Arctic issues, said Russia will gather data and resubmit its claim to the United Nations that an underwater mountain range crossing the polar region is part of Russia's continental shelf.

May 14th, 2009 LONDON - The Catlin Arctic Survey, a gruelling 10-week expedition to measure the thickness of sea-ice that will help study the impacts of global warming in the region, has ended. According to a report by BBC News, two planes landed safely on May 13 on the floating Arctic ice to collect researchers Pen Hadow, Ann Daniels and Martin Hartley.

May 8th, 2009 LONDON - UK explorer Adrian Hayes aims to set a new Arctic endurance record. This time the Dubai-based adventurer is hoping to make the longest unassisted Arctic Polar journey in history.

April 18th, 2009 LONDON - In a new research, a team of scientists has found that global warming is not just transforming the land for the Arctic people, but it is also poisoning their food, with mercury levels in seals and beluga whales reaching levels that would be considered unsafe in fish. According to a report in New Scientist, Gary Stern of Canada's Department of Fisheries and Oceans in Winnipeg, Manitoba, and colleagues did the research.